Aubagne

This easygoing, plane tree-shaded market town (pronounced "oh-bahn-yuh") is proud of its native son, the dramatist, filmmaker, and chronicler of all things Provençal, Marcel Pagnol, best known to Anglophones as author of Jean de Florette, Fanny, and Manon des Sources (Manon of the Springs). Here you can spend the morning exploring the animated market or digging through used Pagnol books and collectibles in the Old Town. Make sure you visit Aubagne on a market day (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday), when the sleepy center is transformed into a tableau of Provençal life. The Tuesday market is the biggest, where you're sure to find santon figurines, as Aubagne claims the title of santon capital of Provence.